Karlovic bows out, Tomic’s struggles continue
Ivo Karlovic, the 2016 winner, was unable to get through his opener at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
Ivo Karlovic
Former champion Ivo Karlovic made a first-round exit at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, while Bernard Tomic’s tough year continued.
Karlovic, 40, served 19 aces but suffered a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (9-7) loss to Guido Andreozzi on the grass at Newport on Monday.
The Croatian sixth seed claimed the ATP 250 title in 2016, having also been runner-up in 2014 and 2015.
Tomic’s difficult 2019 continued as the Australian was beaten 6-2 7-6 (7-5) by Ilya Ivashka.
The 26-year-old, who has fallen back outside the top 100, now holds a 5-12 win-loss record at ATP level this year.
Meanwhile, Tennys Sandgren battled past Denis Istomin 6-4 5-7 6-4, Marcel Granollers brushed past Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-2 6-2 and Kamil Majchrzak was too good for wildcard Alastair Gray 6-3 6-4.
